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Older buildings, especially those located in our historic cities, provide significant opportunities for dealers, especially for companies that have seen dramatic decreases in their residential business. Considering the scale of the opportunity and the slow pace of the housing recovery, many dealers may be considering entering this niche. If you do, be careful.
Commercial sales can represent a big...more »

Spectacular homes often feature spectacular views. It’s no surprise that architects and owners want to maximize these views with walls of glass. Over the last few decades, door and window makers catering to this market have gone a step further, enabling owners to not only fully enjoy their views but bridge interior and exterior spaces with wide-opening door systems that can almost...more »

Personally, I thought HomeStar was dead. And given our current Congress, it may be, but President Obama brought it up again last week. Re-emphasizing his commitment to energy efficiency, he said would push for the initiative as part of his his next proposed budget.
I know there are a lot mixed industry feelings on HomeStar. Some people like the idea of incentivizing homeowners...more »

Coming off two years in Las Vegas, perhaps a change of scenery will do some good for the International Builders' Show. The annual trade show hosted by the National Association of Home Builders returns this year to Florida, where it's set to run next week at the Orange County Convention Center.
Last year’s IBS was more compact, but also seemed busier and more upbeat than the 2009...more »

There are some unique characters out there to be sure, but the window and door dealers I’ve met over the years usually possess a lively combination of energy, enthusiasm, intelligence and downright friendliness. Those traits typically bubble up to the surface with our Dealers of the Year recognition program.
The stories of the companies and individuals we recognize as Dealers of the Year...more »

No doubt it's too soon to tell what kind of impact EPA's lead paint rule will have on the remodeling business in general and the replacement window business specifically. It's been less than two weeks since it became the law of the land.
But I couldn't help but wonder, has the new lead paint rule had an effect yet? No doubt, it's having an impact on installation crews. I'd love...more »

Roto highlighted the global trend toward larger openings showing this window fitted with its hardware.
Nuremberg, Germany—European windows and doors may be very different than North American products, but the two markets share common trends, including energy efficiency requirements that are being ratcheted upward and growing popularity for large door openings. Those two trends were...more »

Continued struggles and signs of optimism evident in this year’s rankings of North America’s largest residential window and door manufacturers

Times were still tough in 2009, but signs of life emerged within the industry last year. A look through Window & Door’s 2010 Top 100 Manufacturers provides ample evidence that companies continue to struggle in this economic environment. This year’s rankings, however, also feature some nuggets of good news that reinforce the view of many that the worst may be over.
Armaclad...more »

Industry leaders see many challenges, but this may be the year we finally turn the corner

Everyone is cautious, but there are traces of optimism in the window and door market. While most industry representatives expect a challenging start to 2010, they are, generally speaking, anticipating a flattening out and perhaps a slight uptick in the back half of this year.
"While there are many indicators that the marketplace has hit bottom, market projections are for the recovery to be...more »

Despite challenging economic conditions, suppliers say the impact-rated market is continuing to improve thanks to manufacturers’ R&D efforts.
Mother Nature doesn’t care that the economy is a mess. Hurricanes do not decrease proportionally with the country’s GDP. In fact, as the 2009 hurricane and tropical storm season kicked off in June, the National Oceanic and...more »